Goblin Bastards (2)
“Those bastards are back again...”
About two days had passed since the assault on the 36th floor began.
Unlike the first day, the goblins weren't charging straight into the machine gun emplacements.
They'd realized the intruders could only occasionally drop meteor showers but had no other long-range attacks.
So the goblins' strategy was to wait just outside the bullets' range, make noise to grate on their nerves, or send scouting parties to probe gently.
“No matter how you look at it, that's a lure tactic.”
“They're trying to wear us down. They think constant stress will make us crack and give them the win.”
Of course, the veteran players weren't falling for it, but it was clear that dragging this out too long would be dangerous.
Plus, the goblins were getting stronger as time went on.
“Raid leader, don't those goblin bastards look bulkier?”
“Hm?”
The scout spilled the shocking sight he'd witnessed.
The non-combat goblins were bickering among themselves, then devising systematic training methods and drilling as a group.
“What the...”
“It's the commander's trait, probably. Training soldiers into elite troops.”
The results of that training were proven that very afternoon.
40 Goblins!
“Only 40...?”
“But their movements are weird. They're fast!”
Forty goblins in lightweight armor charged in a ridiculously low stance.
The gunners scrambled to form up and fire, but the goblins were so quick and small that hits were tough.
“Fuck!”
More than half went down before crossing 50 meters, but the rest made it right to their faces.
Just as their curved scimitars flashed, their heads flew.
“Hoo.”
Park Hyunwoo swiftly cleaned up the few that got through. Calculating the incoming EXP, he said,
“These guys are pretty strong. Giving EXP that's not goblin-like at all.”
“And there's 20,000 of them like this...?”
The players buzzed in an instant. If the goblins kept strengthening in real time, a full 20,000-strong army charging would be a catastrophe.
“No way all those goblins could be this strong. Probably named-level elites. Impossible to power up that fast in such short time.”
“H-ha, yeah...”
“Plus, this canyon's super narrow. No way 20,000 can rush at once.”
And that was true enough—a force of about 2,000 goblins tried charging but took heavy losses from the terrain and retreated.
“When do you think they'll hit us?”
“Probably dawn. Goblins see better at night than we do.”
How strong had the fully trained goblins become? With intelligence surpassing humans, an unexpected ambush was possible.
“You look worried, Hyunwoo-ssi.”
“Yeah, well... Worst case, we use the return stones.”
“No need. We'll wipe out all 20,000 goblins and get back safe.”
Ra Chae-young grabbed Hyunwoo's hand boldly.
“Ah... Sorry, Hyunwoo-ssi.”
Her hand was so cute and beautiful that she'd unconsciously held on.
“It's fine, Chae-young-ssi. Happens.”
“...Thank you.”
“Thank you? For what?”
Just looking at her face stirred strange urges. The more he looked...
...it's not so much handsome as straight-up cute.
Even so, Chae-young felt a dark red lust. The unnecessary touch was proof.
Gotta head back soon.
Hyunwoo, meanwhile, felt nothing. Ra Chae-young wasn't an attractive female to him.
He'd never sow seeds in her. The female who owned him was far too strong.
As raid leader Ra Chae-young predicted, the goblins ambushed late at dawn.
“These little shits are pulling out all the stops...”
The elites led the charge, dodging the bullet storm with fierce agility to close the gap.
“Ah?!”
Boom—!
But this time was different. Landmines laid in advance halted their advance.
The elite goblins barely moved before stepping on them and dying en masse.
On top: thick barbed wire, freshly dug pits. Goblins fell one by one without even taking bullets.
“We haven't even unlimbered the machine guns yet and it's this good? Feels promising.”
“No, they're testing with low-tier troops to clear mines and wire.”
Hundreds of skirmishers advanced, throwing themselves on the wire as stepping stones and clearing mines. The raid leader urgently ordered,
“Mortars ready! Slam the center and wipe 'em!”
Kwaaang—! Trait-enhanced mortars roared.
A heavy shell dropped on the goblins past the obstacles, shrapnel shredding limbs.
This ain't good.
Chae-young read the battlefield flow.
Bad cost-efficiency...
The narrow canyon entrance limited incoming numbers naturally, so sweeps per barrage were small.
Five kills per shell was terrible. Really...
“Raid leader! Trait cooldown!”
“Gunners, cooldown. Rifles down, machine guns up! Mages, barrier now!”
As mortar cooldown ticked, goblins hidden in pits surged out.
Drdrdrdr—! Machine guns spewed fire, grinding them down. Overwhelming firepower carved space between the waves.
The gap's closing...?
But goblin numbers were endless.
They trampled, crawled over, crushed their own dead to advance. The spaces shrank steadily.
“Odin, in your name, raise a wall!”
At around 30 meters, the mages' invisible barrier formed.
It blocked incoming attacks from outside but let outgoing ones pass—a cheat-level trait.
Gunners reloaded machine guns carefree.
“Goblin Empire eternal!”
Then—a goblin laden with gear charged the barrier.
A gunner sniped it quick, but another pulled a staff, muttering a spell.
“Shaman...!”
Kworrrung—! The oil jars exploded on a fireball.
Chain reaction damaged the barrier badly.
“Barrier's breaking soon!”
“Kill the shamans!”
“Too late! Can't clear the suicide bombers...”
Once the barrier fell, overheating machine guns would jam until failure. Fighting the rest would be hell.
Luckily, someone solved it.
“Hyunwoo-ssi!”
Ignoring orders, he dashed outside the barrier, swinging Amodius's Scythe mercilessly.
Bang! Oil jars burst, but his unique gear shrugged it off.
“It's him! The Slayer!”
They fell in order of proximity to the barrier.
Goblins had trained for him: dodging long-range scythes, pelting from afar, stabbing ankles up close...
Useless. His transcendent speed felled ten per swing.
“...His scything's better than mortar barrages.”
“Yeah...”
The hard-earned narrowed gap widened again. Mortar cooldown ended; merciless bombardment resumed.
“Damn it all...”
The goblin supreme commander felt absurd.
Just break the barrier and victory was theirs.
But that tiny monster ruined everything.
“Retreat for now, Commander! We have forces left. New plan...”
[Are you daring to flee the battlefield now? You cowards. All of you, to the gallows.]
The Valkyrie entered the tent, gracefully impaling the commander-grade goblin.
Hyunwoo had summoned her pre-battle. Perfect timing for goblin deployment to snag commanders.
Thus, all commanders hung from trees; traitless goblins were pathetic weaklings.
You have cleared Floor 36.
Normal parties needed a week for Floor 36.
Hyunwoo's party cleared it in just three days.